The third stairway is closed and is causing problems for students as a result. It can’t be helped, but students should not be blamed if it causes latenesses to class.

The closure has drastically affected the timing of class arrival for students. As a result, some teachers report students late. This cannot continue.

It is easy to see the major hold-up in the middle stairway. I’ve seen a frequent number of my classmates arriving late. Lines of students going from one stairwell to the next limit space and timing for others. We cannot control the crowds.

However, in accordance with late arrival, there have been many complaints by faculty about the hold-up and reoccurring lateness. Although there may not be other ways of exiting, using both stairwells equally may be a better compromise. Some teachers have said that it has disrupted and caused a late start to class, though they cannot help it. Faculty have also been known to let classes be dismissed earlier to help avoid the crowds to allow students to make it to their next classes on time.

It could be suggested that freshmen and sophomores be let out of class earlier than upperclassmen, so there is a limited hold-up along the stairwells and more room through the hallways for underclassmen. This could be a potential solution to this problem.

Although this problem is temporary, many students don’t have the time to return to lockers or go to the bathroom. This has become a major concern and interruption during class time. Some students are discouraged to use the bathroom during class even though they did not have time during the five-minutes in between classes because of the stairwell hold-up.

This increase in the hallways overall has started disruptions and latenesses to classes. Some short-term solutions could be to release lower or upperclassmen earlier, split stairwells to assigned grade levels, and extend time in between classes to allow more time to visit lockers and bathrooms.